First World War: Causes and Impact on Africa
The
first world war was a purely imperialistic war due to its nature and the
motives behind it. The war began on July 28, 1914, with the declaration of war
by Austria-Hungary on Serbia and hostilities between the allied and central
powers continued until the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. The
war lasted four years, 3 months and 14 days.
The Short and Long Term Causes of the First World War
Analyse the short and long term causes of the first world war
The
long and short term causes of the conflict were rooted deeply in European
history as well as in the economic and political polices that prevailed on the
continent after 1871, the year which marked Germany as a great power.
Germany
organised the European balance of power and defeated France in the war of 1871
which caused France to view Germany as her arch rival. Such enmity facilitated
World War One.
Long
term causes
Formation of military alliance system/military camps: Imperialists
European nations formed a military union to defend themselves and safeguard
their interests against common enemies. They agreed to increase military camp
members if any were attacked, they also agreed to fight together.
These
military camps were formed after the unification of German in 1871 and were
originated by Otto Von Bismarck. Germany was interested in forming the alliance
because it wanted to isolate France in order to prevent it from seeking revenge
after its defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1871.
Arms race / military preparedness / development of militarism: This
was the competition of manufacturing military deadly weapons within the
imperialists industrialised European nations who aimed to achieve the
imperialists motives of their respective nations.
The
armed race is symptomatic of the "security dilemma‟ in international relations
whereby the pursuit of national security increases the sense of insecurity
among the neighboring states, a well known example of an arms race is the
Anglo-German naval rivalry between 1900 and 1914.
Expansion
of the German naval involving the construction of powerfully armed and heavily
armored battleships was met with the launch of the British Dreadnought class of
naval vessels after 1906.
After
the unification Germany began to manufacture new weapons that were beyond her
domestic needs. This made other countries to join the competition of
manufacturing weapons, they increased their defense budget the number of troops
which necessitated or motivated them to go to war hence the outbreak of world
war in 1914.
Oversea conflicts/ fighting for colonies/ imperialist motives:The
industrial revolution in Germany, France and Britain led to economic domination
leading to the scramble for colonies in Asia, Africa and Balkans and caused an
immense increase in the manufactures of each country and a consequent need for
foreign markets.
The
principal field for European policies of economic expansion was Africa which is
where clashes occurred due to colonial interests.
Economic
rivalry in Africa between France and Great Britain, and between Germany on one
side and France and great Britain on the other, almost precipitated war in
European and even South America between 1898 and 1914.
European balance of power: Every
European country wanted to maintainmilitary economic and politicalsuperiority
over the anothers which led to theoutbreak of war. Germany wanted to remain the
lion of the land through its miliary, while Britain wanted to remain the shark
of the sea because it had very powerful marine technology
Such
ideology caused other nations to struggle for recognition even if it meant
risking world peace. Therefore, World War One broke out in 1914 because each
nation wanted to maintain their status quo and claim recognition.
European nationalism: Many European nations
joined the war to defend their national interests, e.g. the assassination of
Archduke Ferdinand by a Serbian student was an act of nationalism against
Serbia, while the conflict with France was meant to regain Alsace and Lorain
from France.
Immediate causes.
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand on 28th June 1914:Austria's
PrinceFerdinand amd heir to throne and his wife Sophia were shot dead by a
Serbian student while at their honeymoon at the bridge of Sarajevo, this was
the immediate cause of World War One. Austria responded by giving an ultimatum
to Serbia with the support of Germany. The conditions given included:
·
Serbia was to explain the assassination and bring the assassins
to book.
·
Serbia was to dismiss all official which Austria suspected was
involved in the murder.
·
Austrian officials and police were to be permitted to take part
in the investigation. Serbia rejected some of the conditions with the support
of Russia and her allies. On 25th July1914 German declared war on France on 3rd
august 1914, Britain declared war on Germany, Russia also joined the war hence
World War One.
Germany's attack on Belgium: Germany
mobilised and stationed her troops in Belgium and prevented French troops from
advancing. Germany's attack on Belgium on 2 august 1914, caused Britain to
quickly join the war on 14 august 1914, Britain accusedGermany of breaking
Belgium's neutrality which was confirmed since 1839 by the London conference.
All these events also triggered the first world war in 1914.
How
Africa was involved in the war
In 1914
German colonies in Africa consisted of: Togo Land, the Cameroon, Namibia (south
west Africa), and Tanganyika (East Africa). An Anglo-French force took
possession of Togo land in august 1914.
On
September 1914 a British force from Nigeria invaded Cameroon and a French force
from French Equatorial Africainvaded east and south ofCameroon. After many
campaigns in which the Germans defeated the allied forcesseveral times, German
resistance wasfinally overcome in February 1916. In South West Africa,Germany
was conqueredbytroops from the Union of South Africabetween September 1914
andJuly 1915.
The
British force was bigger in East Africa and comprised of about 4250 soldiers.
This was was the force used to crush and defeat Germany's force of 750 soldiers
and a similar number of policemen. The most important of Germany's possessions;
East Africa (Tanganyika) displayed the strongest resistance to the attacks of
the allies.
Early
assaults by British and Indian troops (November 1914) were deflected by the
Germans under General Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck. In November 1915, British naval
units gained control of Lake Tanganyika and in the following year, the allied
forces (British, South Africa and Portuguese) intended to invade German East Africa
which was under the command of general Jan Christian Smuts.
In
1916, the allies captured the principal towns of German East Africa including
Tanga, Bagamoyo, Dar es Salaam and Tabora, the Lettow –Vorbeck‟s troops then retreated into
the south east section of the colony. Late in 1917, however the German forces took
the offensive, invading Portuguese East Africa.
In
November1918,the allies began an invasion of Rhodesia. When the armistice was
signed in Europe in 1918, the troops inGerman East Africa were still fighting
even though most of the colonies were in the hands of the allies. Lettow
–Vorbeck surrendered three days later.
The Factors that led the War to Spread Worldwide
Analyse the factors that led the war to spread worldwide
First
World War was fought in Europe, but eventually it spread worldwide for various
reasons. The reasons included; the need to protect colonial interests, military
obligation, lack of troops among imperialist powers, the rise of sea wars, as
well as the rise and spread of socialist or capitalist ideologies.
The Impact of the First World War on Africa
Assess the impact of the first world war on Africa
Destruction of Africa: World War One led to the
destruction of Africa especially African agriculture and caused the deaths of
Africans who participated in the war in Libya, Somalia and Kenya it‟s said that more than
100,000 East African troops were killed.
African nationalism: The world war led to the
rise of African nationalism, it pushed Africans to demand their liberation and
independence especially after the rise of awareness and the rise of African
elites who organised peasants to demand their independence; Kenyatta, Nkurumah,
were some African elites.
Extreme exploitation. The aftermath of World
War One was the intensive exploitation of African resources because European
nations wanted to compensate what they had lost during the war. New taxes like
hit tax, gun tax, matiti tax, poly tax, head tax and dog tax were introduced.
Land alienation increased forced labour become common, mineral extraction
became dominant.
Rise of socialism in Africa: World
War One led to the rise of socialism in Africa after the Bolshevik Revolution of
1917 whereby Africans adopted socialism e.g. Ujamaa villages in Tanganyika;
Common Mans Charter in Uganda, Humanism in Zambia and Islamic socialism in
Libya.
Political re-division of Africa: Itled
to re-division of the African continent among the imperialist nations e.g. all
German colonies were redistributed among the victor powers. German East Africa
was renamed Tanganyika shared between Britain and Belgium whereby Britain took
Tanganyika while Belgium took Rwanda and Burundi. South East Africa (Namibia)
was given to South Africa.
Cameroon
was shared between Britain and France the portion neighboring Nigeria was given
to Britain and the rest was given to France. Togo was shared between France and
Britain the portion neighboring Ghana was given to Britain and the rest was
given to France.
The
second world war was caused by the first world war. WW 2 in 1939 also affected
the african continent.
The great depression: The first world war
led to the great depression which victimisedAfrican economies leading to the
fall of crop prices. In Europe, prices of African agriculture produce fell,
wages of social services were also reduced.
Africa's involvement in the war:Some
Africans were recruited by the colonial powers to fight on their side. Many
Africans were taken to work as cooks, porters, security guards and fighters,
this led to depopulation in Africa and gender imbalances. Ranks and medals were
awarded to those who had successfully fought in the war, thus creating a new
class of the ex-servicemen.
Fall in
produce prices in African colonies: The war led to the fall of producer prices
because of the severe financial crisis that faced the metropole and the
colonies. During the period of war agriculture greatly declined, European
plantations were destroyed or abandoned in order to concentrate on the war.
African cultivation was equally affected resulted infamine.
Cut down of colonial government expenses: Social
services expenditure was tremendously reduced because of the severe financial
constraints of the war period due to this, colonial activities almost came to a
standstill.
Social miseries: The war led to
misery in various parts of Africa where the people suffered from homelessness,
displacement famine, diseases, fears and uncertainties. There was an outbreak
and spread of diseases like small pox, meningitis, plagues and venereal diseases
like syphilis that were brought by the returning soldiers. There was a serious
outbreak of influenza between 1918 and 1919 which killed many people.
Warfare associations: World War One led
to the rise of warfare associationsin the colonies as a method to intensively
exploit african resources, such warfare association included Kilimanjaro native
planters, Bukoba coffee growers and Bataka association in Uganda.
Colonial schemes:Introduction and
development of colonial schemes in order to generate big qualities and
quantities as to increase exports to the metropole, this led to an influx of
European settlers into East Africa, these were mostly ex-soldiers which meant
more loss of land for the Africans.
With
increased European settlement in Kenya, settlers became agitated for political
power and representation in government.
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